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DFASS, SATS and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have agreed to establish a joint venture to engage in travel-related retail operations in Singapore starting with the KrisShop and Scootalogue brand names. Under the agreement signed today, SIA intends to acquire 70% of DFASS-SATS Pte Ltd, which currently is equally owned by DFASS (Singapore) and SATS subsidiary Asia Pacific Star Private Limited (APS). DFASS (Singapore) and APS will each retain 15% under the terms of the agreement.
DFASS will be the exclusive supplier of the joint venture while SATS will be in charge to manage on board fulfilment. The joint venture will enter into a management contract with DFASS and SATS to leverage the expertise of the two companies in the specific fields and will operate as a separate Omnichannel business unit with dedicated staff. The technological platform will be developed in conjunction with DFASS partner, AOE, the world’s leading non-aviation digitalization company.
The joint venture will offer to travelers in-flight duty-free and duty-paid goods and pre-order services with on-board and ground-based deliveries, initially under the existing KrisShop and Scootalogue in-flight sales brands but with the aim to expand the scope to other potential interested parties.
DFASS-SATS Pte Ltd currently operates KrisShop for SIA and regional arm SilkAir, as well as the Scootalogue program for SIA’s low-cost subsidiary Scoot, under contract arrangements.
“Being a company which has been setting the pace in the Inflight Retail business for the last 25 years, we are very looking forward to transforming the current model into a modern, powerful and consumer oriented Omnichannel experience,” said DFASS Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Roberto Graziani. “DFASS is really excited to start this new initiative that, we are convinced, will disrupt the Travel Retail business, together with partners that place customer experience at the heart of their strategy and with which we have built a successful long-term relationship.”
“This is a win-win-win partnership among three great companies which we expect will help us substantially grow our travel-related retail business,” said SIA CEO, Mr Goh Choon Phong. “The joint venture will bring together strengths of all three partners – the SIA Group’s customer base of more than 30 million travelers per year and our growing KrisFlyer frequent-flyer program, as well as SATS’ airport and logistics expertise across Asia and DFASS’ extensive supplier network and retail experience.”
Mr Alex Hungate, President and CEO of SATS, said: “This new venture brings our longstanding partnership into the digital age. Passengers will benefit from relevant, exclusive shopping opportunities, customized to them personally, and integrated seamlessly into their overall customer experience.”
Subject to the successful completion of due diligence, various conditions being met and necessary approvals being obtained, the joint venture agreement is expected to be firmed up in the third quarter of 2018.
AOE’s award-winning Omnichannel Multi Merchant Marketplace (OM³) helps multi-retailer venues such as airports, shopping malls or integrated resorts to seamlessly fuse offline and online experience into one full-featured suite of software applications and services. OM³ provides a unique platform for omnichannel retailing and offers customers numerous useful online and offline shopping-, service- and real-time information options.
AOE is a leading global technology service provider and consultancy, offering Open Source-based Enterprise solutions for digital transformation and Omnichannel E-Commerce as well as mobile apps and web portals. The company has headquarters in Germany and the USA and branch offices in Dubai, Zurich and Hong Kong. More than 250 employees support international corporations in the operative digitalization of business models through the implementation of open, scalable and secure solutions. AOE relies on excellence and is organized as an agile company.
The DFASS Group is a world-class leader in retail options for travelers and travel-related audiences. The company specializes in helping consumers and businesses access the enticing world of Duty Free retail. The DFASS Group has spent more than 26 years delivering its global reputation as the world’s largest in-flight Duty Free specialty retailer. Today’s DFASS Group is built up of over 600 full-time employees, operating on five continents through a worldwide network of 120 packing and fulfillment stations.
The DFASS Group
Carolyn Mariani
SVP Marketing & Vendor Relations
Tel.: +1 305 654 9200 ext. 1217
Mail: carolyn@dfass.com
The DFASS Group
